


Eclipsed

by highpcy



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Astronomy, Best Friends, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, KaiSoo - Freeform, M/M, Pining, Romance, Slice of Life, eclipse - Freeform, solar eclipse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 12:26:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11874393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highpcy/pseuds/highpcy
Summary: "He is the sun while Jongin is the moon, cyclically illuminated by Kyungsoo’s light, waxing and waning at the hands of his best friend and true love."Astronomy-obsessed Jongin finally gets the chance to experience a solar eclipse! What makes everything even better is the fact that he gets to share this beautiful moment with Kyungsoo.





	Eclipsed

**Author's Note:**

> Hii! This is my first time posting my work, so I decided to make it a short oneshot. I thought it would be cool to make one that revolves around today's solar eclipse, so I went ahead and took a chance. Please please please comment and let me know what you think! Anyway, please enjoy!

Some say that teenage love never lasts, that it’s shallow and fleeting. Jongin, however, does not believe this to be true. The intensity of his feelings over the past few years has made him a firm believer in the idea that true, long-lasting love can happen at any time, to anyone, at any age. 

Of course, he’s had friends who only know love as something that comes and goes, appearing in the form of a TV personality, the face of an online profile, or a fellow classmate for the duration of a semester. Nothing real, nothing deep or intimate. But Jongin knows love. He knows how it feels to be completely taken and captivated by someone close to him, to feel weightless in their presence, to be emotionally and energetically connected to someone who means so much to him. 

His best friend Kyungsoo really is his other half. Somehow, he always seems to make the sun shine a little brighter. In fact, he  _ is  _ Jongin’s sun, providing warmth and light even in the coldest seasons, on the darkest days. 

He is the sun while Jongin is the moon, cyclically illuminated by Kyungsoo’s light, waxing and waning at the hands of his best friend and true love. Kyungsoo, Jongin believes, is far too bright to be affected by his dullness. It is only on rare occasions, say, a solar eclipse, when Jongin really feels as if he impacts Kyungsoo’s light, obscuring his shape and molding him into something even more beautiful. 

This is what Jongin’s mind wanders to as he shuffles through a small pile of his old eclipse photos. There’s another one happening today, the 21st of August. This will be the first one to sweep across the United States since the annular solar eclipse of 1994. However, this one will be a breathtaking, total solar eclipse, and he’s lucky enough to live in a little city in Oregon that just so happens to be in line with the moon’s path. He has always wished to travel to those places lucky enough to be blessed by the rare occurrence, to be totally engulfed in darkness on beautiful days like today, but his family has never had the money to send him off. That’s why today is so important. 

Unfortunately, however, he will not be able to view the solar eclipse directly, since he doesn’t own a pair of glasses that will protect his eyes from the sun’s harmful rays. He had searched all over the internet to find a pair, but every site he came across was selling them for far too much money. As a result of broken appliances, bills and other things that needed to be tended to around the house, he hadn’t been able to save up for a pair. As disappointing as that may be, Jongin is always willing to help his mother out, since his father has never been around. He’s honestly just grateful to experience such a rare event, even if it means he’ll have to look away or create a little makeshift eclipse viewer from a cereal box or something. What makes everything even better is the fact that he gets to share this beautiful experience with Kyungsoo. 

Jongin is big on astronomy. He’s been captivated by the nature of it ever since career day in 2nd grade, when an astronomer came to teach his class all about constellations, how the stars come together to make pictures like the Big Dipper and Orion. Each one seemed to tell a story, and he loved that. Today, at age eighteen, his bedroom walls are lined with photos that have captured the beauty of solar and lunar eclipses, as well as images of galaxies and constellations. He has a pretty decent telescope that he saved up for when he was about thirteen, and although he hasn’t had much practical use for it, he uses it whenever he’s stressed, sad, or disheartened and needs to connect back with the thing that makes him feel the most at peace. 

Today, he most definitely will not be looking through his telescope. 

Kyungsoo should arrive in a few minutes, and they will walk over to the old baseball field to lay out and experience the eclipse in person. 

Kyungsoo usually comes over to hang out after school and finish homework or study. They’ll go see a film on occasion, or go out to dinner when they both have the money, but it’s never anything close to a date. Jongin is pretty sure Kyungsoo doesn’t even know he likes him. Maybe in some alternate universe, Jongin made a move a long time ago, and now they’re really official, but why jeopardize a perfectly good friendship? The Jongin in this universe is not willing to take any chances. 

“Jonginnie, Kyungsoo’s here!” His hears his mother call up to him. 

“Coming,” He responds, taking a quick glance in the mirror before rushing down the steps. 

“Hey,” Kyungsoo casually greets Jongin with a soft smile before treading over and pulling him into a big, warm hug. Jongin rests his head in the crook of his neck, wearing the softest smile and taking in his scent. Kyungsoo really gives the best hugs.

He pulls back and gives Kyungsoo a subtle once-over. He’d just gotten through the front door, and is looking stunning as usual. Jongin has never seen a man who could make khakis work quite the way Kyungsoo does. 

“Hey, how have you been?” Jongin mumbles, rubbing the back of his neck. His mother walks back into the kitchen and resumes cutting coupons, a hobby she’s picked up in the last couple of years. It keeps her busy when she’s not at work, and her wallet doesn’t mind too much, either. 

“I’m great! I’m really excited about today. These things are like, super rare!” Kyungsoo exclaims, reaching for the doorknob and heading back outside. “Bye, Mrs. Kim!” he yells over his shoulder on his way out. Jongin follows suit, moving toward the door and letting his mother know they’ll be back soon. 

“Okay, sweetheart, have fun. Remember to take lots of pictures! I want to know what all this commotion is about, too,” she says, looking up from her magazine, offering her son a warm smile.

“You got it, don’t you worry,” Jongin responds before stepping out onto the front porch and quietly shutting the door behind him. 

Kyungsoo is already on the sidewalk, standing with his arms crossed and tapping his foot. “Hurry up, slowpoke! We’re gonna miss it if you keep fooling around.” 

“Oh, so you can say bye to my mom and I can’t? Jeez, so impatient.” Jongin says over his shoulder as he locks the door. “Aren’t I the one who’s supposed to be excited here, anyway? Last time I checked, you knew next to nothing about astronomy. I had to bribe you with a Snickers bar just to get you to agree to watch it with me,” he chuckles, descending the steps of his front porch and making his way over to a giggly Kyungsoo. It’s around 9:30 on a Monday morning. A cool breeze wisps by, displacing Kyungsoo’s jet black hair as Jongin looks up to meet his eyes. Somehow, he can’t tell whether it is the August sun that heats his face, or the blush flowing up into his cheeks. Summers have always been a little warmer since he met Kyungsoo. 

“I mean, I was gonna watch it anyway. I just knew I could get something extra out of the deal if I pretended like I wasn’t interested. You’re very gullible, Jonginnie.” Kyungsoo flicks Jongin’s cheek, before reaching for his back pocket. “Plus, I have a surprise for you.”

“Mhm, what is it? Another candy wrapper like last time? I’m not falling for your cruel jokes anymore. I’ll just keep the one from the Snickers I owe you,” he jokes, kicking a pebble out of his path as they start walking toward the old baseball field down the road. 

“Nice try, but I actually decided to be thoughtful this time. I figured you could use these today,” Kyungsoo reaches into his back pocket, pulling out two pair of eclipse glasses. He observes Jongin's features as he hands one over, taking note of the pure surprise and happiness that takes over his being. 

“Kyungsoo, no way! You can’t be serious…” Jongin’s words come out muffled from behind his shaking hand.

Kyungsoo watches Jongin’s fingers as they trace along the constellations adorning the pair of spectacles. Orion dances beneath his fingertips as the sunlight catches bits of holographic film. Although the specs are made from paper, Jongin feels as if he is holding gold. He looks back up at Kyungsoo, the familiar well of tears blurring his vision. “These are really the real deal?” 

Kyungsoo’s satisfied expression morphs into one of worry as he realizes his best friend is now in tears. He unconsciously reaches out to him, using his thumb to gently wipe underneath his eyes. “Yes, yes, they’re the real deal. NASA-approved. I know how much this day means to you, and there’s no way I was going to let my astronomer go home without getting the view he deserves,” he says, almost in a whisper. Jongin is definitely a softie and tends to get all mushy like this quite often. This time, however, feels a bit different. The corners of Kyungsoo’s plump lips pull up into one of his signature heart-shaped smiles as he grabs Jongin’s wrist and leads him toward the baseball field once again. Jongin had completely stopped in his tracks when he’d gotten his gift. “Come on now. We’re really gonna miss this thing if we don’t get a move on.”

. . . 

Kyungsoo swings open the rusty gate that leads to the old field and leads Jongin in. The walk was nice. Kyungsoo had begun to hum as usual, his hand somehow taking solace in Jongin’s, rubbing the pad of his thumb back and forth in an attempt to calm him down. Jongin just listened, occasionally swiping his arm across his face to wipe his tears away. Neither of them said a word.

They are lucky to be alone together today, seeing as somehow, no one else had the brilliant idea of experiencing this year’s solar eclipse in an abandoned lot of sand and dirt. The two of them walk to the middle of the diamond, shuffling through overgrown grass dotted with little white and purple flowers. Having gone years without treatment and harsh pesticides, bunches of dandelions have grown strong enough to poke through the soil to absorb the sun’s rays, adorning the field of deep green with their own splatters of bright yellow. 

The eclipse has already begun when they settle in the center of the field and pull out their glasses. Jongin is still a sniffling mess when he finally opens his mouth to speak. 

“You have no idea how much this means to me. Thank you so much,” he begins, looking over at Kyungsoo, who was already staring in his direction, smiling. 

“Yeah yeah, just don’t get all soft on me like that anymore. My hands are all covered in crusty Jongin tears,” Kyungsoo jokes, punching his best friend in the arm. Jongin giggles in response, wiping away the last of his tears.

"Whatever," he says, placing his pair of eclipse specs over his glasses. They're just as effective as he imagined, blocking out all light except for the sun's. Leaning back on his hands, he takes in the view before him. He has always dreamt of a day like this, when he could witness something this spectacular and awe-inspiring in person. "Wow, look! It's happening so fast! In a few minutes, the sun will totally covered and we'll actually be able to see the complete corona!" He exclaims, eliciting a chuckle from Kyungsoo.

"Mhm. Talk nerdy to me," he replies, rolling his eyes. At that, Jongin bursts into laughter.

“I hate you,” he declares.

“Liar. You like me,” Kyungsoo challenges with an oddly serious look on his face, Jongin notes. 

“Yeah,” Jongin plucks a dandelion out of the grass, twirling the weed between his thumb and his index finger, “I guess I do.”

“No, like, you  _ like me  _ like me.” Kyungsoo says, causing Jongin to halt all movement. He’s just playing around, right? There’s no way he could have been careless enough to let his true feelings seep through. There’s absolutely no way his best friend of five years is aware that he’s head over heels for him. He’s probably been waiting for the right time to tell him that it would never work, to stand up walk away, to disown him. To think, Kyungsoo has known all along, and Jongin must have looked like a complete idiot the whole time. His stomach turns at the thought, and his mind races to find some type of excuse or apology or  _ something.  _

“I-” He starts, but he’s cut off by Kyungsoo’s next words. 

“You don’t think I’m that dense, do you? Honestly,” he laughs, and Jongin can almost feel his lungs being squeezed together, knocking the breath out themselves and forbidding any new oxygen from coming in. He sits up and pulls his knees to his chest. The two of them are so close in the wide open field, and although his body will not allow him to get up and run, he attempts to close himself off, putting as much distance between them as possible. Suddenly, his glasses are fogging up, which probably makes him look like more of an idiot now than he ever has. He has to think of something to say.  _ Anything.  _

“Listen, I’m sorry, I-” 

“No, it’s okay, because I really like you, too.” Kyungsoo mumbles, reaching an arm out to grip the sleeve of Jongin’s t-shirt. 

“Wh-what?” Jongin feels his heart jump. He drops his head, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose. It’s getting darker, and once again, he can’t tell if the numbness he’s feeling in his toes and fingertips is because of the change in temperature, or a result of his own body’s reaction to Do Kyungsoo. A shaky hand is fisting the grass as if it’s the only thing keeping him grounded, keeping him sane. He’s never felt this way in his life. Not even when Kyungsoo kissed his cheek in their sophomore year during their little practice session to prepare Kyungsoo for his part in the school musical, nor that one time he had to ride all the way home on Kyungsoo’s lap from his mother’s vacation home because there weren’t enough seats in the minivan to fit his whole family. This feeling was different. 

“You’re… cute.” Kyungsoo mumbles once again, and for the first time in Jongin’s life, he sees Kyungsoo blush. Now  _ his  _ glasses are slipping off his face, barely hanging onto the tip of his nose. Now that Jongin thinks about it, Kyungsoo is wearing the same expression he wore when they walked into the movie theater together for the first time. He also looked like that when Jongin offered to pay the bill a few days later after they had finished their dinner at the little family diner on the side of the highway that connects their two towns.

It is in this very moment that Jongin finally stumbles upon the realization that he has always been so preoccupied with putting himself down that he has never considered the possibility of Kyungsoo actually having feelings for him, too. 

“You’re an amazing person,” Kyungsoo continues, “I know you’ve referred to me as your sun, but you’re more like a supernova. You are so extravagantly bright, sometimes being around you is kind of overwhelming. B-but, in a good way, of course.” He continues, letting go of Jongin’s sleeve and grabbing the dandelion the latter had picked up earlier, fiddling with its petals. Jongin had just stopped crying, and now he's at it again. “You’re so passionate about astronomy - your level of dedication and commitment is unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. You brighten my days beyond belief, and I feel so lucky to be able to spend as much time with you as I do. You always think and speak so negatively about yourself, but I think you’re the most brilliant, breathtakingly beautiful person in the universe. That has to count for something, right?” Jongin responds with a shallow nod, his face wet and his gaze still fixed on the grass surrounding them. Kyungsoo reaches out and swipes away the tears on Jongin’s face, once again, then gently places his hand underneath Jongin’s chin, tilting his face up until the two of them make eye contact. 

“Look at me,” he starts, feeling the unfamiliar well of tears in his own eyes for the first time in what seems like ages, “don’t ever doubt yourself. Nothing would have made me happier than to spend this day with you, and I want you to know that,” he whispers.

Their faces are so close that Jongin can smell the remnants of spearmint gum mingling with the familiar scent of the other man's house. He’s so close, he could trace the outline and his plump lips, examine every curve and indent that has come together to create the masterpiece that is Kyungsoo. God, he has never looked more beautiful. “Do you really mean that?” he whispers, looking down and away from his best friend’s face, only to be brought back up to attention by the tapping of Kyungsoo’s index finger underneath his chin. 

"Yeah, I do." A beat of silence. “Do you want me to show you?”

Jongin shuts his eyes tight, nodding in response. 

In the next moment, Kyungsoo’s lips are on his, and as if on cue, the moon drifts fully into the path of the sun, completing the total eclipse. 

The two of them share a few moments in complete and total darkness. Although they are fleeting, Jongin and Kyungsoo feel as if these moments could last for hours, days, months. The contents of Jongin's daydreams are finally materializing right before him. He can feel the lips he had dreamt about so many nights, rub his nose against his friends’ like he's always wanted to. Being with him feels surreal, and although he is blocks away from his house, he feels even more at home here with him than he has ever felt anywhere else.

When they finally pull back after what seems like hours, Jongin rests his forehead against Kyungsoo’s. “Thank you,” he whispers, glancing up to meet his eyes, which crinkle up into little crescents of their own. 

“Of course, anything for you.”


End file.
